Just Like Old Times
by Nathalorial
Summary: Stephanie is fed up with her parents, and goes back to Lazy Town to finish high school. Her friends welcome her back with open arms, especially Pixel, but as Stephanie's attention strays to Sportacus, Pixel does everything he can to win her affections.
1. Ch 1 Letters

**What's this? A new fan fiction by Natha? YES! It's true! Those gosh-darn plot bunnies are so annoying some times, the only way to get them to let go of my sore hind end is to write them down. Don't worry, my Freakafans, I won't ignore the Freakazoid fanfic, it will just update slower than normal probably.**

**Nathalorial does not own Lazy Town.**

_.:Dang plot bunnies, I hope your happy now:._

Pixel kicked up his skateboard as he reached the steps to the Lazy Town High School, carrying it the rest of the way. He was anxious to get to his locker before school started. Well, most of his friends were. Mayor Meanswell had told them that weekend that they would find a surprise in their lockers when they went back to school on Monday.

Pixel turned one corner sharply, and almost ran right into Ziggy, who seemed to be in almost as much a hurry as Pixel.

"Hey Zig, checked your locker yet?" Pixel asked. Ziggy shook his head no.

"Not yet, I'm heading there now. I saw Stingy earlier though, he said he found a letter in his locker, and it said not to open until lunch time on the envelope." The junior replied.

"Not till lunch? Hmm, I wonder why. Anything else about it?" Pixel asked, just before they arrived at their lockers.

"No, but I guess we'll find out soon enough." Ziggy pulled out a fresh bonbons sucker from his pocket, unwrapping it and sticking it in his mouth. Typical Ziggy. Pixel turned back to his locker, pushing the button on a little gadget that looked like a car lock controller, before opening his locker to search it. Ziggy had to work at regular combination lock for his to open.

"What's this… pink?" Pixel held up a small pink envelope, with the black '_Do not open before lunch'_ scrawled on one side. Immediately, his thoughts went to Stephanie. It would make sense, if she had sent them the letters. Pixel often emailed her, but she never made any mention about this. Actually, Pixel wasn't sure if she communicated with the rest of Lazy Town at all, other than her uncle Milford. After having left Lazy Town that summer years ago, she never came back, her summer instead filled with more dance lessons and camps, with no time to visit family and friends. Not even Sportacus kept in contact with the spunky pink girl.

"Piiiixel… earth to Pixel!" Ziggy's voice finally made their way into the teen's brain, startling him from his thoughts. "You going to put your board away? Class starts soon."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. Just thinking."

_.:Oooh, Lazy Town Teens! =D :._

The time seemed to drag before lunch for a small group of teens, each one waiting to open the mysterious pink letters. Ziggy kept drumming some small candy-canes on his notebook, Trixi kept trying to distract her teachers by leading them off on off-topic conversations, Stingy kept flipping a coin back and forth over his knuckles, and Pixel kept doodling on the edge of his papers. Once that final bell to signal the time for food came, they all rushed as fast as they could from their individual classes to their favorite lunch table, eager to read the letters.

Once they actually sat down though, they seemed to not know what to do next, anxiously turning the envelopes over in their hands, wondering who should open theirs first.

"Oh my gosh, this is just stupid, let's open them already." Trixi finally sighed, and ran a straight finger along the top fold, ripping hers open. The other's followed suit, soon pulling out small slips of pink paper. Their eye's all widened, suspicions confirmed.

'_Hey guys, what's up? I hope you all remember me, it's been so long since I've come to Lazy Town! Guess what? Due to some certain circumstances, I'll be moving back to Lazy Town, this time for good! Isn't that amazing? I'll see you soon! Love, Stephanie'_

"Hey, Pinkie's coming back!" Trixi exclaimed. "I almost forgot about her, it's been so long."

"I wonder if she still like's candy…" Ziggy wondered aloud.

"Just don't give her my candy." Stingy told him. And so the conversation amongst them continued, talking about times past. Pixel didn't say much, he was thinking about how much Stephanie might have changed. Her emails didn't contain much in that aspect. He wondered if she would like how much they all had changed here, and the things that hadn't as well. Pixel let his eyes shift over his friends. They were all teenagers now, he hoped the pink girl would recognize them all.

Ziggy still loved candy, but he kept it down more than he did as a kid. True, you wouldn't catch him dead without a small sucker sticking out of the corner of his mouth, but at least he wasn't packing those huge lollipops around anymore. A lot of his passion for candy turned into a passion for mountain dew, pizza and tacos instead. Ziggy wasn't in sports that much, but he was usually on the main drum set for pep band during football and basketball games, and first part trumpet in the jazz band. And he wasn't the short chubby kid anymore either. Ziggy was now your typical lanky teen boy, almost as tall as Pixel, despite being the youngest of the group. His blond hair now hung down to his shoulders, and actually looked pretty good on him when pulled back in a ponytail.

Stingy was still like his name suggested, stingy. But he had nowhere near as much greed as he did as a kid. True, he did have the most money out of the high schoolers, but if someone wanted to borrow some for something small like lunch, the answer was no. Stingy was also in the pep and jazz bands now, playing his alto saxophone in first part. He was more protective of that thing than even his piggy bank. Stingy was shorter than Ziggy, and he never changed his hair style, but wore looser clothes than he did as a kid. No more suits and a bowtie, but jeans and a t-shirt like every other teenage boy.

Trixi had definitely grow up, bustier now that they had all gone through puberty. She was also captain of the color guard team. Her attitude hadn't changed much, she was still spunky and a bit of a trickster. Now she had the arm strength to back her up though, with the occasional fights the other girls tried to pick with her - you don't mess with girls who wield six-foot iron poles… it's just not done. Trixi was the shortest of them all, but physically the strongest. Her hair had gotten darker over the years, and was now a dark brown, and also shoulder length. She wore it in pigtails when she could, but during practice she put it in one ponytail.

Pixel then looked at himself, at how he had changed since Stephanie had last been in Lazy Town. He was still the tallest of the group, and still the master of anything and everything digital and electrical, but he had a better social life now too. Before Stephanie came along, his life never left the confines of his house, except for school. Now, he was almost running his own business. Residents of Lazy Town started recognizing his talent with electronics as more than just a little kids hobby when he fixed the old lightening system at the middle school auditorium, and started paying him to fix their wires or computers whenever the need arose. Pixel wasn't in any sports, but he did spend some free time at the skate park, and was pretty killer on a snowboard during the winter. His hair was still a bright orange, and he spiked it each morning.

Pixel smiled to himself. They really hadn't changed that much, he realized, things would be just like old times.

_.:My math for their ages is somehow screwed up:._

Sportacus was sitting in his airship, enjoying his own lunch and thinking of the pink letter than had found its way to him via the mail tube. He was excited to see Stephanie, as much as the kids down below were, and like Pixel, he was thinking about how they had all changed since the pink dancer was last in the town.

For a while, Sportacus had gone on saving the kids as usual from getting stuck in trees or from a plan of Robbie Rotten. Once the kids hit puberty though, they started needing help for completely different reasons. And Sportacus couldn't exactly help in all of them. The problems of teenagers were definitely different from the problems of children.

All of them could remember clearly the day they started realizing they were growing up. Particularly because that morning, Trixi woke the whole neighborhood with a scream of pain and fear. You could imagine the fear on the boys' faces when they burst in to find her crying in her pajamas on the floor, and her bed covered in blood. Turns out it was a problem only Ms. Busybody could help with, as Trixi didn't have her mother to explain these things about growing up to her. Sportacus and the boys were slightly traumatized for a few hours after the incident.

The awareness of them not being kids anymore continued as the boys each noticed certain things about their body changing as well. At least Sportacus could help them understand that part whenever their father's were not there. And teach them to control their own strength when muscles started developing. Sportacus recalled the day when Ziggy inadvertently broke Robbie Rotten's nose. His crystal had beeped, and when he looked through the telescope and saw Ziggy and Robbie, he presumed Ziggy needed help. Upon arrival, he noticed it was Robbie cringing away, not Ziggy. They finally worked it all out, it was just an accident, after all, but poor Robbie stuck to his lair now more than before, even if only to avoid another broken nose.

A few times, the hero's crystal beeped late at night, waking him up. Sportacus would go through the town, and find Trixi in a catfight with a few other girls. Admittedly, he thought she was good, able to defend herself somewhat from three others. But he had to stop before it escalated into much more. It was actually on his suggestion that Trixi then tried out for color guard, to build up a little muscle and be able to defend herself properly, and discourage others from picking fights with her - you don't mess with girls who wield six-foot iron poles… it's just not done.

As the kids grew older, Sportacus would find himself needing to patrol later at night, missing his 8:08 bedtime almost every day now. Stingy had been mugged while walking home from pep band late one night. Pixel was nearby and beat off the mugger with a stick he found on the ground just before Sportacus arrived. Stingy was okay, clutching his saxophone case like it was his whole world. Two days later, Pixel was cornered by a few of the mugger's friends and beaten until the hero arrived.

Sportacus grimaced and tried to bring his thoughts back to the present. He wondered whether Stephanie would show up, see how much had changed in Lazy Town, and change her mind and leave again. Sportacus would not consider Lazy Town all that safe anymore, not like it was ten years ago. And Robbie wasn't the cause this time, but more of the people themselves as the town grew. The hero was actually beginning to consider taking some time to train the kids a little more extensively in defending themselves, and asking them to help him patrol the town. It was getting to the point that one man, even if that man was Sportacus, could not control the violence in a growing city.

Sportacus frowned to himself. They had all changed so much, he realized. How could things be like they were before?

_.:I wonder how Sportacus would react to sports candy crisp. Because crisps have a lot of sugar in the topping…:._

After school was over, Ziggy, Pixel, Stingy, and Trixi all raced over to Mayor Meanswell's house, to get a full story. They came through the door and into the kitchen without even knocking first, determined to see Stephanie.

Sportacus was there already, sitting at the table and talking to the Mayor. Poor Milford nearly spilled his coffee when the teens burst into the room, bombarding him with questions, their voices overlapping each other. Sportacus put his hands up to get their attention.

"Okay, okay guys, calm down, let the Mayor catch his breath first." He told them. The voices respectfully died down. "That's better. Now, I don't believe you're here for the exact same reason I am, but once your questions are answered, could you please stay a little longer?"

"Only if we can do all of it within the half-hour," Trixi said. "I have color guard at 4:00."

"And Stingy and I have pep band practice as well." Ziggy spoke up, chewing on the stick of a long-gone sucker.

Sportacus nodded his head in understanding. "I'm sure it won't take that long. Now, Mayor?"

"Ah yes, well, Stephanie is moving back to Lazy Town at the end of this week. She will be finishing school with you, even." Mayor Meanswell said then, before taking another sip of his coffee.

"The letter said 'due to some certain circumstances'… did something happen?" Pixel asked. "Her emails have always been happy, but she never mentioned anything about this."

Milford and Sportacus exchanged glances, they had just been discussing this before the teens got there. "I'm sorry kids, but if Stephanie wants you all to know, you'll have to let her tell you herself. It's not my place." Milford told them. Of course, this left them all even more curious, but they dropped the subject, and looked expectantly at Sportacus.

"I'm sure you have noticed that Lazy Town is not as safe as it used to be?" Sportacus asked them. They nodded their heads. "As the town grows, so does the violence, and I can't contain it all anymore. This job is bigger now than what just one man can do."

"We can help you, Sportacus, when we aren't busy with school." Ziggy piped up. Sportacus smiled at them.

"That's just what I was thinking you would say. I want to train you kids to better defend yourselves, so that you _can_ help me. But only if you want to. You wouldn't have much free time, except for the days you don't have school."

"I would totally do it!" Trixi yelled, punching her fist in the air, then glanced at her watch and squeaked. "Eek, sorry guys, I'll get back to you on that, I've got to get ready for practice!" And with that, she ran off. Ziggy and Stingy looked at each other for a moment.

"That's our cue, we have pep band practice too. We'll talk to you around 6 then, if your available?" Stingy asked, as he and Ziggy headed towards the door as well. Sportacus nodded his head to them. That left Pixel leaning against the kitchen door frame, arms crossed. He watched Stingy and Ziggy leave, before turning to face the Mayor and Sportacus.

"I don't have anything to do, I'm free most of the time after school." He said simply. He came over to the table with the two men and sat down. "So, what's this about our help?" he asked.

_.:I've decided that when and if I ever have kids, they will watch LazyTown, because it's the only kids show that gives a positive message every single episode:._

Stephanie looked around her bedroom at her parents' house. The only photos she had were of her friends and family in Lazy Town. She didn't really connect with her peers here as much as she did in Lazy Town, and while it was easy to 'make friends', they were not as good of friends as Sportacus and the others were. Stephanie was still into dance, oh was she into dance. To fill up that void of missing her true friends, she immersed herself into the world of dance, everything from the fox-trot to pole dancing. Because of that, she had one of the best bodies at her current high school, and was the object of many boy's affections, and turned many heads at the high school dances.

Stephanie still dyed her hair pink, but she also added blue and purple streaks to it as well. Her hair was about shoulder length now, and she had upgraded her wardrobe from sundresses to t-shirts and mini-skirts. Currently, she was wearing a black t-shirt that had a suspicious-looking pink fairy on it, and a hot-pink, plaid, pleated mini-skirt with black and white in it. Instead of a maroon headband with plastic gems, she wore a black headband with a bow on the side of it.

Eyes landing on her laptop, Stephanie had to resist the urge to get onto her email and tell Pixel everything that had happened. She purposely kept her emails happy, so as not to worry her friends, but things were not all that great in her life. For one, her happy-go-lucky attitude (among other things) severely ticked off some girls at school, and it was all she could do to avoid any dangerous confrontations with them (though she was sure she could easily beat their asses). Another thing was her dancing itself, combined with bad relations with her parents. Long story short, you don't learn pole-dancing from just anyone, and that just added to her many arguments with her abusing, neglecting parents. She wasn't even on speaking terms with them anymore. That's why she was going to live with her uncle Milford in Lazy Town – to try and start over, and finish high school without killing herself or someone else by going crazy.

Sighing to herself, Stephanie picked her laptop up and put it in one of her suitcases, before leaving the almost-empty room, grabbing her jacket and walking out of the house without so much as glancing at her parents. She had some dance classes to finish this week, then she could get on that train and leave this god-forsaken place once and for all, and never come back.

_.:Oh, moody, ain't she?:._

**Natha's notes: So, what do you think of my opening? I hope you liked it, because I liked it, and I spent a bit of time on it. Lemme know what you think! There is a nice shiny button down there just begging to be clicked! =D **


	2. Ch 2 Home Again

**And here you have it, chapter 2! Man, I am not used to keeping more than one separate story in my head, and here I am working on three, not including role plays =/ Hope you enjoy it! ^_^**

**If I owned Lazy Town… I'd keep it going more seasons. I don't own 'Sorry!' either.**

_.:That weekend:._

Pixel and his friends waited anxiously for the phone call from Mayor Meanswell that he had picked up Stephanie from the train station. They were all at Pixel's house, playing a game of 'Sorry!' instead of a video game, so that they could hear the jingle of the phone when it went off. But as they waited… and waited… and waited some more, no ring came. Pixel was starting to get nervous, glancing at the phone every few minutes. When it actually did ring, it startled everyone bad enough that the pawns on the board game where scattered. Trixi was closest to the phone at the time, so she grabbed at the phone and dodged out of the way as the boys came running over, Ziggy tripping and sending them all sprawling.

"Wow, you guys failed that landing, ha-ha!" Trixi told them, about to double over laughing, the phone held in one hand almost forgotten. Pixel pulled himself out of the mess and snatched the phone from her.

"Yeah, Mayor Meanswell?" he asked into it. They waited for a moment, then Pixel whooped and put the phone up. "Stephanie is at the Mayor's house now! Let's go!" And with that, they ran out the door, Pixel grabbing his skateboard, Ziggy getting a long board, Trixi putting on some rollerblades, and Stingy getting on his bike.

_.:Yay for failed landings! =D :._

Stephanie stared out of the window of the train as it came into the Lazy Town station, how her reflection mixed with the sights on the other side of the glass. Lazy Town had really grown, she noticed, as large buildings she did not remember flickered in and out of her view. Glancing around, there were more people on the train, and as it pulled to a stop, more people milling about the station. Sighing to herself, Stephanie stood up and started pulling her luggage down.

Once off the train, she started searching for her uncle. It didn't take her long to locate him, he was looking over heads and calling her name.

"Uncle, I'm over here!" she called, waving a hand towards him. She renewed her grip on her luggage and started towards him.

"Ah, there you are Stephanie! Let me help you… is that all of your luggage?" Milford asked, confused. There wasn't very much of it, just two suitcases. Stephanie shrugged her shoulders.

"The important stuff. Everything else will be coming in over the week." She replied, voice devoid of much of its previous energy and happiness. Milford nodded and grabbed one of her suitcases, leading her to his car.

"How is your side?" he asked, taking a slightly worried tone. Stephanie frowned and touched her side gingerly.

"It still stings a little, and the bruise is really dark still, but I'll be fine."

"That's good, and the other bruises?"

"Various stages of healing. I should have enough cover-up to hide them until they go away though." They reached the car and Milford put the suitcases in before Stephanie could even lift a finger to help.

"I'm so glad we got you out of that house Stephanie. I could never have imagined my own family would do such a thing-"

"Uncle, it's fine." Stephanie interrupted him. "I honestly don't want to mention any of that for a while."

Milford stopped and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, looking at her. Stephanie stared back. The longer she looked, the more wet her eyes became, and soon she was burying her face in her uncle's shoulder, silently crying. Milford patted her back until she was done, then they got into the car.

"Your friends here are anxious to see you. I promised I would call them at Pixel's place once we got home." Milford explained as they drove through the town. "You want me to give you some time first? They are sure to rush over to the house as soon as they hear."

Stephanie nodded her head. "Yeah, I'd like a little time first. Maybe an hour or so. I should be ready to see them by then."

"What about Sportacus? He's bound to be watching us even now with his telescope."

Stephanie was quiet for a moment, not really sure what to say. She was excited to see the slightly above-average hero, maybe even more-so than she was to see her friends. But then an ache in her side reminded her. She didn't want any of them to see her like this, especially not him. After a moment of consideration, she decided.

"No, I'll try to avoid him, just like the others, until I can at least replace the bandage and check the mirror. One hour in shouldn't be so hard, right?" she asked. Milford nodded as he pulled the car into the driveway.

"Easier said than done, Stephanie. Actually, why don't you go ahead and go inside, I'll take your luggage in."

"No uncle, I can-"

"Stephanie, if I know Sportacus, he's probably going to be right at the trunk of this car right as I open it. If you want to avoid everyone, I suggest you run inside now." Milford said sternly. Stephanie gulped and nodded, then, checking out the window first, opened the door and sprinted into the house.

Going to the kitchen window, she peeked outside the curtain just enough to see the car. Sure enough, as her Uncle Milford reached the trunk of the car, a blue figure came spinning into view. Stephanie backed away from the window quickly and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

_.:Very interesting…:._

When Stephanie finally emerged from the bathroom, she had managed to bring a bright smile to her face, much like when she was little. She had re-wrapped the bandage around her middle and made sure her black and pink fairy tee covered it from sight. She had also taken some Tylenol to lower her aches, and made sure any bruises she had else-where on her body where covered in some way, whether by her clothing or with the aid of makeup.

Of course, Sportacus didn't know any of this. All he knew was that Stephanie was now here, and looked different from when he last saw the little eight-year-old girl. This girl was not so little anymore, now a teenager in her last year of high school. He saw the color changes in her hair, the wardrobe changes, and her physical changes. But he saw her smile. Still the bright smile he remembered.

"Hello Sportacus." She told him, walking into the kitchen and sitting at the table. Sportacus nodded, sitting as well.

"Hello Stephanie. Wow, look at you. Has it really been that long?" he asked. Stephanie looked down at her hands on the table.

"I guess it has. Sometimes it felt longer, but I'm finally here now. For good this time. I'll be finishing school here."

"I see. Do you still dance?" he asked, though he was sure he knew the answer. Very few girls developed the kind of body he could see Stephanie had, and not be in dance. Her answer confirmed it.

"Name a dance, any kind of dance at all, and I'll bet you that I could do." She challenged him. Sportacus raised an eyebrow, and was about to speak when the kitchen exploded in sound and color.

"Stephanie, you're finally here!"

"Pinky, we missed you!"

"Nice new hair!"

"I can't believe you're back!"

Mayor Milford had picked up the phone as soon as Stephanie had come out of the bathroom, and now Ziggy, Pixel, Stingy, and Trixi were there. Stephanie was hugged, kissed on the cheek, picked up, spun around, and even tossed back and forth a bit in the boys' arms as they greeted her, obviously overjoyed at seeing the pink girl. The pink girl in question was trying not to wince in pain at the rough treatment to her still tender side. Finally she was put down and they each gave her a firm hug.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction." Stephanie said, sitting back down in her seat. She looked at each of her friends, taking in how different they looked, as they did her. Ziggy's longer hair and drumsticks sticking out his back pocket, Pixel's height and cargo pants, Trixi's sturdy build and calloused hands, Stingy's loose yet still proper clothes. So different, yet still _them_. Their new looks fit them, she decided. It took her a minute to realize Sportacus was trying to talk to her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, what?" she asked, as her friends sat around the table with them.

"I was telling you the names of a few kinds of dances." He replied. Stephanie's eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah! Hey, maybe you guys can try it too. I bet you won't be able to name off a dance that I could do." She said, issuing the challenge again.

"Well, we know already you can do hip-hop, because of the Bing Bang song." Ziggy muttered, putting an elbow on the table.

"What about the waltz?" Stingy asked.

"Done it, one of the slower dances, most commonly used in competitions." Stephanie replied, seeming uninterested.

"Jive?" Trixi asked.

"Fast, fun, seems to go best with malt-shop music." She said.

"Ballet?"

"Square dance?"

"Foxtrot?"

"Boxstep?"

"Done it, done it, done it, done it, can we move on to more exciting dances?" Stephanie asked.

"Okay, umm, how about swing dance?" Ziggy asked.

"There you go, we're getting there now. Yes, I've done it, swing dancing is fun with jazz music."

"Oh, what about the tango?" her uncle Milford asked, putting a bowl of fruit in the middle of the table. Stephanie smiled as she reached for an orange.

"Yes uncle, I can do the tango. Helps to have a half-competent partner, though." She said, giggling.

"Can you do the Paso Doble?" Sportacus asked, before biting into an apple. Stephanie nodded.

"Uh-huh, the dresses for that dance are fun to work with."

"What about break-dancing?" Pixel asked. Stephanie winced.

"It's named break dancing for a reason, a number of us at the camp that summer ended up with broken wrists before too long." She told him, using her fingernail to peel the orange. "But yes, I can do it."

"Ouch. Hmm, it's a long shot, but, what about the lambada?" Stingy asked. The others looked at him.

"The what? What is the lambada?" Ziggy asked. Sportacus put his head in his hand, praying Stephanie would say no. He wasn't rewarded with a favorable answer though.

"The lambada is a Latin dance." Stephanie explained. "It's one of the more… intimate dances, more so than the tango supposedly is. One way of explaining it is 'sex on hardwood', because that's what it pretty much looks like."

"Oh. And… you can do that?" Pixel asked uneasily. The pink girl smiled almost shyly.

"Yes, actually, I can do the lambada." She told them. Stingy let out a low whistle. After a minute of silence, Trixi came up with another question.

"Wait a minute, you said to name off _any_ dancing, right?" she asked. Stephanie glanced at her from the corner of her eye for a moment.

"Yes…" she said slowly, wondering where Trixi was going with this. The girl got a smirk on her face then.

"I think then that I have found a type of dance that you have not and most likely _will_ not do, knowing the innocence you had when we were little." Trixi told them all then, looking proud of herself. Stephanie thought for a moment, then smiled.

"You want to bet on that?" she asked, leaning over the table a little. Trixi crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, staring Stephanie in the eye, positive she had it, and taking the bait.

"Yeah, I'll bet on it. I'll bet my $10 that you haven't done this one." The girl pulled a ten dollar bill out of her pocket and laid it on the table between them. The boys in the room watched in interest, trying to figure out what Trixi had thought of, and why Stephanie looked so confident. Milford was off by the kitchen sink, knowing that Trixi was about to lose her money. Sportacus looked between the two girls, not really sure what to do.

"Done. Name this dance you believe I can't and won't do." Stephanie challenged, pulling a ten dollar bill out of her shirt and laying it down next to Trixi's.

"You sure you want me to? You're too innocent for this dance, Pinky." Trixi said.

"I tell you I can do the lambada, and you believe me to be innocent? The only thing closer than the lambada to sex is sex." Stephanie replied.

"Yes, but to even watch this kind of dance legally, you have to be over 21." Trixi informed her. At this, the guys believed Trixi had won the challenge. Stingy reached towards the money on the table, to scoot it back towards Trixi.

"I think you've lost ten bucks Stephanie." He said. But Stephanie slammed her hand down on the bill before he could move it, making him jerk back in surprise.

"She has yet to name this dance she speaks about, therefore I haven't lost." She told him, though her and Trixi never broke eye contact.

"Yet." Trixi told her.

"Then just name it already, you're keeping the rest of us in suspense." Pixel told Trixi. Trixi waited a moment, before smiling like the Cheshire cat.

"Pole dancing." She declared.

"Yup, you lost Stephanie." Ziggy said, leaning back in his chair, looking a little disappointed. The other's slumped as well. Sportacus looked a little relieved. Mayor Meanswell was keeping quiet. Stephanie…

Stephanie was grinning just like Trixi was.

"Why thank-you Trixi, for your gift of ten dollars." She replied, pulling the money towards her. Trixi's smile vanished immediately.

"What?" she half-yelled, at the same time as half of the people in the room.

"You never mentioned THAT in your emails!" Pixel accused, eyes wide.

"I didn't mention a lot in my emails." Stephanie replied calmly. Then she frowned a bit. "I didn't want anyone to worry about me, so I kept them happy and general, naming 'dance classes and school' instead of specifying 'stripper class every other week, ballet three days a week, Latin dance twice a week, ballroom dancing twice a week, figure skating every other day, self defense every Saturday morning, and manage school, homework, eating, sleeping, at-home practice, and avoiding pretty much everyone in the process'. It was a long time before I even told Uncle Milford all that."

"And I'm very grateful you did." Milford said sternly, coming over to the table. "The sooner we got you out of that house, the better."

"Uncle…"

"What? Oh, right, sorry my dear."

Stephanie pursed her lips, then smiled again. "Moving on…" she said. Uncle Milford was notorious for not being able to keep his mouth shut.

"Oh girl, you realize you're going to have to teach moi some moves, right?" Trixi asked, completely forgetting about the money she just lost.

"Okay maybe it's time for a change of subject, right guys?" Sportacus intervened, clapping his hands and standing up. He and a few of the other guys in the room looked a little uncomfortable. Trixi and Stephanie glanced at each other, smiling and giggling.

"With such a schedule, have you had time to play any sports?" Sportacus asked. Stephanie shook her head no, frowning.

"Sadly not, unless you count what little they have us do in P.E. class at school." She replied. "I haven't gotten to play soccer since sophomore year, or double-dutch or wall ball, or even four-square since middle school. In P.E. we played basketball sometimes, and flag football, but most of the time we just ran for a certain amount of minutes, or stretched, or played long ball or sole survivor."

"Would you like to go play some soccer now?" He asked then, looking at her. Stephanie hesitated, looking into his bright Icelandic blue eyes. He was still just as handsome as she remembered, he didn't even look as if he had aged a day. Still as strong and energetic she bet, too. Oh, it was so tempting to give in and go play, just like they had when she was younger. She was about to say yes, when a throb in her side reminded her of something.

"Umm, maybe later? I'll have to pass for today, I'd rather rest. I've been on the train all day, you know." She finally said. Her friends looked a little downhearted at the answer, but they understood that she would want to rest after such a long trip.

"You guys can go and play though, I'm going to go put my stuff away…" she added, standing up to go to her room. "We'll talk later, I promise!" she told her friends, smiling at them. They nodded and stood up, heading out the door and for the sports field. Trixi lingered behind a bit.

"Can I come with?" She asked Stephanie, following her down the hall towards the pink room. The girl in pink looked back at her grinning.

"Doesn't look like I have a choice, haha. Come on, I want show you something anyways." She told her, closing the bedroom door behind them.

_.:Woah and chapter two is finally finished!:._

**Natha's Notes: So, how was it? I struggled with this chapter, honestly. That's the majority of the reason why it took so long to get it out. I'll try and get another chapter out sooner than I did this one, promise!**


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